


Last Minute Date

by ericsonclan



Series: Ericson's Diner AU [42]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Bad Cooking, Cooking, Dates, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Minnie panics as she tries to get ready for a last minute date.
Relationships: Marlon/Sophie (Walking Dead: Done Running), Minerva & Sophie (Walking Dead: Done Running), Renata & Sophie (Walking Dead: Done Running), Renata/Minnie (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: Ericson's Diner AU [42]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688374
Kudos: 2





	Last Minute Date

**Author's Note:**

> (by Linnea)

Minnie could feel the stiffness in her neck. With a small yawn she slung her guitar case over her shoulder. Her gig at Ericson’s Diner was finished which meant she could just go back and fall back into her bed and let all the stresses of the day melt away. Minnie pushed open the front door of the diner and stretched out her arms when all of a sudden the sound of something sliding across the pavement drew the redhead’s attention. 

There roller skating through the parking lot was Renata, humming happily when suddenly she looked over at Minnie. Her eyes instantly brightened up. Without warning Renata started to skate faster, her skates zooming across the pavement with ease while she pulled something out of her pocket. Not stopping for a second, Renata rolled by, tossing a note towards her girlfriend. A playful smile was on her face as she gave a flirtatious wink. 

Minnie took a step back in shock, her hands fumbling around to catch the note. When she had successfully unfolded it she saw the words _Your place, dinner, 8 PM_ written in Renata’s pretty handwriting. A smile pulled on the corners of the redhead’s lips when a thought entered her mind.“Wait! Renata! Am I cooking dinner?” Minnie called out to her girlfriend but she was already too far away, hopping slightly to help her turn a corner with a happy giggle. Minnie shook her head good-naturedly. 

Life was never boring with Renata. _I’m not the best at cooking,_ Minnie stared at the spot where Renata had disappeared. _But maybe if I have enough time I could make something good._ Minnie glanced down at her phone, a small pit of anxiety forming in her stomach. It was already a quarter to seven. Was there even anything in the fridge that she could use for dinner? What the hell was she going to cook?

“Hey, Minnie!” Sophie’s voice appeared behind Minnie, causing her to nearly jump. 

“Shit. Oh, it’s just you Sophie,” Minnie held a hand to her chest. 

“Yeah, it’s just me. Sorry,” Sophie fidgeted with her hat, an apologetic smile on her face. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What are you doing? Doesn’t your shift end at eight?” Minnie glanced over at Sophie who swung her arms to stretch and bring some life to them.

“Not on Fridays. My shift ends around six thirty. Snuck into the kitchen and Omar was kind enough to spare a burger,” Sophie rubbed her belly, a serene smile on her face at the memory of the burger she had eaten only minutes ago. “So I’m set for dinner. Since Mom and Dad are away for the next couple days and Tenn’s having a sleepover with Willy and AJ at Clem’s house, I guess that leaves you to find dinner for yourself.” Sophie gave a sympathetic pat to her twin’s back.

“Oh fuck! Dinner,” Minnie let out a sad groan. She had been so distracted by her sister’s sudden presence that the last minute dinner date with Renata had slipped her mind. 

“What’s wrong?” Sophie leaned forward and caught the worry in her sister’s eyes. 

“It’s just,” Minnie sighed, “Renata threw this at me,” She held the piece of paper in between two of her fingers. 

Sophie snatched it and quickly read it then glanced down at her watch. “If we take your car, we can grab a few quick ingredients at the store and still be able to make dinner.” Sophie jogged over to the bike rack and picked her bike up, lifting it up and toting it over towards the car. Minnie ran over and opened the car, placing her guitar gently in the backseat before opening the back of the car for Sophie to chuck her bike in. Sophie slammed the back of the car shut and jumped into the shotgun seat, slamming on her seatbelt. “Alright, to the store!” Sophie pointed forward with a big smile. Minnie nodded and put the key in the ignition, turning it and bringing her car to life.

Luckily the store wasn’t too far from the diner and soon the twins were pushing along a shopping cart that had a squeaky wheel. “So, what are you confident about cooking?” Sophie’s eyes wandered the many aisles of the store.

“Shit, ummm...” Minnie’s mind wandered; she didn’t want to halfass dinner, but she also knew that she couldn't cook something special with the limited time. “How about… spaghetti?” 

“Sounds good. First let’s move towards aisle five. It has the pasta.” Sophie swerved the cart and directed the way towards the spaghetti noodles. Once they had grabbed those they moved to grab some sauce, parmesan cheese, garlic, onions and ground beef. When all the essentials were gathered the twins moved towards the checkout.

“Wait,” Sophie let go off the cart and darted towards a stand, sliding to a stop and snatching up the last of the garlic bread. Jogging over she threw it into the cart. “Alrighty! All set?”

Minnie’s eyes looked at the cart then back at the different aisles. “I’m gonna grab a few drinks.” She ran over towards aisle seven and stopped by the brand of Jamaica soda that she knew Renata loved. Grabbing a container of six she ran back to the cart. They didn’t have much more time. As soon as she got back they moved to the express lane and checked out within minutes. Sophie grabbed all the bags while Minnie carefully carried the container of drinks. Her hand rummaged for the key. After hearing the soft beeping sound of her car unlocking and getting safely into the car they were off. 

“I’ll get the water for the pasta going,” Sophie disappeared into the kitchen with the groceries. The sisters worked well together, getting the kitchen set in minutes. Soon the pasta was thrown into the boiling water and the meat was cooking. It seemed like everything would work. Sophie felt her phone buzz against her pocket. She looked to see that it was Marlon and in one fluid movement answered it and walked out of the kitchen. 

“Hey, babe,” Sophie’s tone sounded even happier than usual whenever she talked with Marlon. She paced back and forth, her hand playing with a strand of hair as she listened to her boyfriend talk. “Yeah, I’m free tomorrow.” Her smile grew as the conversation continued. “Sure, laser tag sounds fun. We’re totally gonna kick Mitch and Brody’s asses! They’d better watch out!” A confident smirk appeared on the redhead’ lips. All of a sudden she heard Minnie swearing frantically in the kitchen. “Gotta go, babe, love you.” 

Sophie hung up and shoved her phone in her back pocket, dashing over to the kitchen. Her eyes grew large as she saw the water for the pasta boiling over and splashing against the stove. The flames crackled each time the water hit.  
But Minnie’s attention was drawn elsewhere - to the pan that held the sauce and meat which was fuming with burnt pieces of meat. A thin grey trail of smoke travelled up to the overhead fans that were trying their best to dispel it. “Minnie, what-” Sophie asked, noticing the panic in her twin’s eyes. 

“I don’t know! I just… something went wrong!!” Minnie glanced over towards Sophie before turning off the burners on the stove, putting on oven mitts and draining the pasta water.

“Yeah,” Sophie waved the air in front of her face. “That much is clear.” She saw Minnie’s face fall at those words. “But I’m sure it’s still tasty. In fact,” Sophie opened a cupboard and pulled out a small plate, piling on a hearty serving of the spaghetti. Twirling her fork in the meal, she pulled up a large forkful of spaghetti and shoved it in her mouth. 

Sophie’s bright optimistic smile faltered as soon as she bit down on the food. The noodles were beyond mushy, tasting almost like paste while the sauce had a strong burnt taste to it. The cindered meat bits within the sauce only worsened the taste. Her face turned somewhat sour as she swallowed the bite before returning to its usual chill state. “Wow,” Sophie covered her mouth with her hand. “So good,” She lied through her teeth. “I’m gonna go finish this in the bathroom.” Sophie held up the plate and didn’t wait for Minnie’s response before disappearing down the hall. 

“Fuck,” Minnie placed her hands on the kitchen counter and glared at the food she had just massacred. There was no way in hell she could serve this to Renata. But what was she going to do? How much time did she have? Minnie’s eyes wandered over to the clock that hung over the dining room table. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the big clock hand land on the twelve as the small hand stood on the eight. It was too late. Any minute now Renata would be skipping towards the front door, excited for a dinner date. Only to be surprised with a shitty, inedible dinner. 

Minnie wondered if she could quickly fry up something else when the doorbell rang, causing her heart to fall to her feet. She saw out of one of the front windows that Renata was at the front door, excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet. She had a cute bright yellow top on, a pink flower tucked behind her ear and jeans that seemed to add to her attractiveness. Minnie glanced down at her white t-shirt and ripped jeans. The thought of dressing up for the date hadn’t even crossed her mind. Fuck, she was going to give Renata a bad date… maybe even food poisoning with how fast Sophie had ran off after eating her food. Minnie opened the door with a forced smile, trying to push down the nerves in her body. 

“Hey, Ren.”

“Minnie!” Renata got up on her tiptoes and captured the redhead’s lips in a short kiss that sent a jolt of electricity through Minnie’s body. When they pulled apart, Renata had a playful smile on her face. “Ready for the date?”

“Yeah,” Minnie answered, her mind in a bit of a haze as she moved back to let Renata in. It wasn’t until her girlfriend was on her way towards the kitchen that Minnie snapped out of her haze. “Shit. Wait,” Minnie ran after Renata who smelled the air with curiosity. 

“Hmm, were you cooking something, Min? It smells interesting,” Renata flashed a smile back at her girlfriend. 

“Don’t eat it,” Minnie ran forward, covering her failure of spaghetti from her girlfriend. But hiding it away only made Renata seem more interested in it. 

“Why not?” 

“It’s bad. Like really bad.” 

“Oh, come on,” Renata sneaked past her girlfriend and snagged up some spaghetti on one of the plates that was set out. “It can’t be that bad,” Renata bit down with a “num” sound only to immediately spit it out with a long bleh.

“I knew it. I was just trying to make dinner and I totally fucked up.”

“Well it wasn’t good, but we can just make dinner together,” Renata smiled up at Minnie. “That was the original plan anyway.”

“Wait? It was? That wasn’t clear in your note.” Minnie looked over at Renata who had her head in the fridge. 

“Well,” Renata popped her head out from behind the fridge door. “We can still salvage dinner. So how about it?”

“Yeah,” Minnie smiled and moved over to the fridge. She stopped behind Renata and leaned forward to grab some ingredients. “There should still be stuff left to try to make spaghetti again.” Her mouth hovered by Renata’s ear, tickling it with her warm breath and causing a shiver to run down Renata’s spine.

“Hee, that tickles,” Renata’s giggle made Minnie move back, a light blush on her face. 

“Sorry,”

“No, I liked it,” Renata grabbed Minnie’s hand and pulled her towards the stove. “Now let’s get to cooking!” Soon the couple had chosen the different tasks to complete. Minnie was in charge of the sauce while Renata kept a close eye on the noodles. 

Renata hummed happily to herself, her hips swaying gently back and forth as she navigated the kitchen. Minnie felt her face heating up, becoming overwhelmed by her girlfriend’s presence. She decided to put her focus on making sure she didn’t mess up on the sauce again when she heard her girlfriend’s cheery voice.

“Minnie, can you taste if this is done?” 

“Sure,” Minnie didn’t look away from the sauce and moved her head over towards where Renata stood. Her mouth grabbed the noodle and absentmindedly nibbled on it when all of a sudden she felt the warmth on Renata’s lips on hers. Minnie pulled back, nearly choking on the food in her mouth as she felt her heartbeat skyrocket.

\----

Renata watched in playful amusement at her girlfriend’s flustered reaction. She always loved seeing how flustered Minnie could get. How red her face would be whenever Renata did the simplest teasing or flirting. Her eyes looked over at Minnie’s outfit. It was a simple look, yet somehow she made a plain t-shirt look like the hottest thing ever. Renata pulled herself away from her thought and glanced over at the stove. “Well, it seems like the pasta is done!” she declared before straining the pasta water from the pot. 

Minnie quickly moved to turn off the heat on the sauce and after a few minutes of setting the table they were ready for dinner. As soon as she sat down Renata grabbed the container of Parmesan cheese, shaking it wildly and piling it up high on her plate.

“You sure do love parmesan cheese,” Minnie’s voice drew Renata’s attention, who smiled at her girlfriend. 

“It’s what makes the spaghetti so good.” Renata then proceeded to twirl around the noodles on her fork and devour the food. The two continue to talk and eat as they enjoyed their meal when Minnie’s eyes grew large as she dropped her fork.

“I also forgot about the garlic bread!”

“There’s garlic bread?” Renata looked up with excitement. “Well, it’s never too late to throw it in.” She hopped up from her spot and was soon followed by Minnie who helped prepare the garlic bread for the oven. The two talked here and there, sharing  
small kisses in between the minutes while they waited for the bread to be done. As soon as the timer dinged Renata ran over and pulled out the garlic bread, completing the meal. 

After a few minutes dinner was done and Renata got up, stretching her arms as she rose. “Well, I’d say we make a pretty good team. That spaghetti was tasty.”

“Yeah,” Minnie got up and started clearing the spots. “Way better than my first attempt.”

True,” Renata slid over to help carry over the dishes. 

“You wash and I dry?” Renata looked back at her girlfriend with a smile.

“Oh, I can just do them myself,” Minnie scratched the back of her head with a smile.

Renata looked like she was considering the offer but Minnie already knew that she wouldn’t budge.

“Nah, come on,” Renata grabbed Minnie’s hands and guided her over to the sink. Minnie laughed while she was pulled along, a warm smile on her face. The two worked hard to get all the dishes done and within minutes they were finished.

“So,” Minnie dried her hands on a towel. “Would you like to stay for a movie?” Renata could see the nervous hope in her girlfriend’s eyes.

“I’d love to. In fact, I’ll get the popcorn started.” Renata skipped over to one of the cabinets.

“Alright, I’ll go get the back living room set up,” Minnie disappeared out of the kitchen and dashed to the back living room. It looked a bit worse for wear. Sophie wasn’t exactly the tidiest person and her influence seemed to reach the back living room. Minnie ran around grabbing trash and other random junk, kicking aside a spare bra into one of the bedrooms as she balanced the pile of trash. By time she finished cleaning up the living room and making sure her blanket that she got from Renata was back there, she heard the sound of the microwave beeping. 

Within seconds Renata was sliding across the hardwood floor with a bowl of popcorn and the sixpack of Jamaica sodas. Minnie moved forward and helped carry the snack load. “Snacks are set. Saw that you had some of these bad boys,” Renata dangled the Jamaica sodas in her hand with an excited smile.

“Yeah, I picked some up just for you.”

“You’re the best,” Renata gave Minnie a quick kiss which Minnie leaned into, deepening it. Renata could feel her heart swell as the kiss turned into a longer one. The two were getting so caught up in the kiss they failed to notice their surroundings, causing Minnie to spill some of the popcorn on the floor when she backstepped too quickly. Minnie and Renata pulled away as the redhead struggled to balance the bowl in her hand. 

“Oh shit,” Minnie cursed before regaining her balance.

“Five second rule,” Renata scooped up the few kernels that fell and tossed them in her mouth. “Now, what movie do you wanna watch?”

“Hmmm,” Minnie placed down the bowl in front of the spot she made for them on the couch. “I don’t know.”

“Well, got anything in your DVD player?” Renata set down the drink case and opened one, taking a large swig from it. Minnie turned on the player, pushing the eject button that revealed the hidden disc. 

“ _Bambi._ ”

“Sounds good to me. Grab the remote and join me on the couch.” Renata jumped onto the couch with a happy sound. Minnie grabbed the remote and sat down on the spot that Renata was patting. As soon as Minnie sat down Renata moved closer, sitting in Minnie’s lap. Minnie seemed overwhelmed for a second but soon wrapped her arms around Renata and shifted to make sure that both of them were comfy. Minnie could smell the warm, comforting smell of cinnamon that made her heart fill with warmth. Renata moved away for a second, snatching the blanket that was on top of the couch and tossing it over them before returning to the warmth of Minnie’s embrace. There was no place quite as comfy as Minnie’s arms. Renata let out a happy sigh when her eyes wandered over to the remote that was out of both of their reaches. 

“Min?”

“Hmm?”

“How are we gonna get the remote?”

Minnie looked over at the remote and was about to suggest that she just grab it before returning back to their comfortable spot when a loud belch emitted from the kitchen.

“Oh, banana.” Sophie groaned. “That tasted so nasty.”

“Sophie!” Renata’s cheery voice made Sophie poke her head out of the kitchen.

“Oh? Hi, Renata.” Sophie walked over and stood by the doorway that led into the living room. “Staying for a movie?” Sophie motioned to the TV that had the title screen to _Bambi._

Yep! Wanna join us?” Renata looked up at Minnie who nodded in agreement.

“Sure,” Sophie had a chill smile on her face until she burped again, her face twisting in disgust at the taste.

“There’s a price though,” Renata had a mischievous smile on her face that made her best friend stop in her tracks. “Grab the remote and press play.”

“Sure,” Sophie picked up the remote and tapped the play button before falling down onto the other couch. The three watched in silence for the first part of the movie, enjoying all that it had to offer. Then Renata spoke up.

“I want popcorn.”

“Ok, I’ll get it,” Minnie moved forward and was about to unwrap her arms around Renata.

“No, wait,” Renata whispered. “Sophie, grab the popcorn and toss it at our faces.”

“Okay,” Sophie shrugged.

“You don’t have to-” Minnie stopped when a piece of popcorn ricocheted off her forehead and landed by Renata’s shoulder. 

“Sorry, just gotta aim better,” Sophie held the next piece like she was preparing to shoot a basket and sent the popcorn flying and landing in Renata’s mouth. The two cheered happily and soon the three of them made a game of it. Some pieces landed easily while others were way off but it didn’t seem to take away from the enjoyment the trio was having. 

Soon the popcorn was devoured and they had settled down, their attention back on the screen. Sophie began to doodle something on a spare piece of paper, caught up in it until she finished. When she looked over back at her sister and Renata she noticed that they had fallen asleep. Renata’s head was resting peacefully on Minnie’s collarbone, gently rising and failing with her girlfriend’s breathing. Minnie’s head rested on top of Renata’s, a happy smile on her face while they slept. 

Sophie quietly grabbed another scrap of paper, careful not to wake up the sleeping couple. Sophie’s pencil scratched against the surface of the paper and after a while the small sketch of Minnie and Renata was complete. She knew both of them would love it. Sophie put the drawing by her side and returned to watching the movie as she tucked her hands behind her head. It seemed like the last minute date had turned out well after all.


End file.
